Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Jan 24th, 2023 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Wind Slabs and Loose Wet.
kbakker,
Avalanche Canada
Warm weather and sunny skies are going to change the snowpack rapidly.
Take extra caution on steep slopes in full sun.
Summary
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
Sunday's MIN reports show interesting slab properties that occurred during skiing. Check the embedded MIN for a review.
On Saturday, a small (size 1) avalanche was observed in the Beaufort range.
Remember that even a small loose wet avalanche can push a rider into or over a terrain trap, such as a cliff or gulley feature.
Snowpack Summary
The upper snowpack consists of 30-60cm of storm snow that has been redistributed primarily by northwest winds at alpine and treeline. This snow will rapidly settle and become heavy with today's warming event. This overlies a pronounced melt-freeze crust that can be found at elevations 1500 m and below. Above 1500 m the melt-freeze crust begins to lose strength and is less than 1 cm thick.
The mid and lower snowpack remains moist and is generally well-settled and dense.
Snowpack depths are highly variable and have been recorded between 200 and 300 cm, the consistent theme is that they taper quickly as you descend. While the snowpack in most forested areas below treeline remains below threshold depths, expect features such as steep cliffs, and open alpine-like features to have the potential to produce avalanches.
Weather Summary
Tuesday Night
Cloudy, northwesterly winds 40 km/h, treeline temperature 0°C, freezing level rising to 2500 m.
Wednesday
Mainly sunny with possible marine fog layer, no new precipitation, northwesterly winds 40-50 km/h, treeline temperature 5°C, freezing level 3000 m.
Thursday
Mainly sunny, trace precipitation, northwesterly winds building through the day 50 km/h, treeline temperature 5°C, freezing level 2500 m
Friday
Mix of sun and cloud, trace precipitation, northwesterly winds easing to 30 km/h, treeline temperature 1°C, freezing level 2000 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Avoid steep slopes when air temperatures are warm, or solar radiation is strong.
- The more the snow feels like a slurpy, the more likely loose wet avalanches will become.
- Recent wind has varied in direction so watch for wind slabs on all aspects.
Problems
Wind Slabs
Winds slabs may still exist in specific terrain features just below ridge crests
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Loose Wet
This warming event in combination with yesterday's rain event will promote pinwheeling, and wet snow sliding on the crust below.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Treeline, Below Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Jan 25th, 2023 4:00PM
